Mr. Stearns (for
himself and Ms. Matsui) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce

A BILL

To require the reallocation and auction for commercial
use of the electromagnetic spectrum between the frequencies from 1755 megahertz
to 1780 megahertz.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Efficient Use of Government Spectrum
Act of 2012.

2.

Reallocation and
auction of 1755–1780 MHz band

(a)

Withdrawal or
modification of Federal Government station assignments

The President shall—

(1)

not later than 5
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, withdraw or modify the
assignment to a Federal Government station of the electromagnetic spectrum
described in subsection (e); and

(2)

not later than 30 days after completing the
withdrawal or modification, notify the Commission that the withdrawal or
modification is complete.

(b)

Reallocation and
auction

Notwithstanding
paragraph (15)(A) of section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 309(j)), not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of the
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–96), the
Commission shall—

(1)

reallocate the electromagnetic spectrum
described in subsection (e) for commercial use; and

(2)

as part of the system of competitive
bidding required by section 6401(b)(1)(B) of such Act (47 U.S.C.
1451(b)(1)(B)), grant new initial licenses, subject to flexible-use service
rules, for the use of such spectrum, paired with the spectrum between the
frequencies from 2155 megahertz to 2180 megahertz, inclusive.

(c)

Auction
proceeds

For purposes of
depositing the proceeds from the competitive bidding described in subsection
(b)(2) that are attributable to the electromagnetic spectrum described in
subsection (e), such spectrum shall be treated as spectrum that is required to
be auctioned by section 6401(b)(1)(B) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job
Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1451(b)(1)(B)).

(d)

Relocation of
and sharing by Federal Government stations

(1)

Relocation
prioritized over sharing

Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
President shall withdraw under subsection (a)(1) the assignments to all Federal
Government stations of the electromagnetic spectrum described in subsection
(e).

(2)

Sharing if
relocation not possible

(A)

In
general

If the President determines, based on an operational
impact assessment, that a Federal Government station cannot be relocated from
the electromagnetic spectrum described in subsection (e) without jeopardizing
essential military capability, the President shall modify under subsection
(a)(1) the assignment to such station of such spectrum to permit shared Federal
and non-Federal use.

(B)

Identification
of stations

Not later than 18
months prior to the commencement of the competitive bidding described in
subsection (b)(2), the President shall—

(i)

identify any
Federal Government stations the assignments of which will be modified in
accordance with subparagraph (A); and

(ii)

notify—

(I)

the Assistant
Secretary of any stations so identified; and

(II)

each Federal
entity that operates such a station that the station has been so
identified.

(C)

Development of
transition plan

For any
station identified by the President under subparagraph (B)(i), the transition
plan required by section 113(h)(1) of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(h)(1)) shall enable
non-Federal users to share with such station the electromagnetic spectrum
described in subsection (e). Where exclusion zones are necessary for the
protection of essential military capability, such plan shall provide for the
smallest possible zones consistent with such protection.

(e)

Spectrum
described

The electromagnetic spectrum described in this
subsection is the spectrum between the frequencies from 1755 megahertz to 1780
megahertz, inclusive.

(f)

Definitions

In
this section:

(1)

Assistant
Secretary

The term
Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce
for Communications and Information.